Cinnabar Island (referred to in Japanese as both グレンじまGuren Island and グレンタウンGuren Town) is a large island located off the southern coast of the Kanto region, south of Pallet Town. It is home to a large volcano. Blaine was once the resident Gym Leader specializing in Fire-typePokémon, but as of Generation IV, Cinnabar Island no longer has a Gym. Cinnabar is a kind of red mineral, associated with hot springs and volcanoes. The island is connected to the mainland by two water routes: Route 20 in the east and Route 21 in the north, leading to Fuchsia City and Pallet Town, respectively.

The Generation I games reveal Cinnabar Island to be a technological mecca. The journals scattered about the abandoned Pokémon Mansion reveal that Mewtwo was created here. The scientists at the Cinnabar Lab (known as the Pokémon Lab prior to Generation VII) have the ability to resurrect Pokémon from their Fossils. Two years after the events of GenerationsI and III, as seen in Generations II and IV, a volcano erupted on the island, destroying everything. The only building present is a Pokémon Center, with the Cinnabar Gym having been relocated to the Seafoam Islands.

Names

This section is incomplete.Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Check other in-game references.

In the Japanese versions, Cinnabar Island has two distinctive names: グレンじまGuren Island and グレンタウンGuren Town.

In an old Pokémon.com summary, Cinnabar Island was called by its Japanese name of Guren Island (transliterated as Glen Island).[1]

Generations I and III

In the Generation I games, it is referred to as simply "Guren" (グレン) on the Town Map just like other cities and towns. The island's signpost calls it Guren Town, whereas the Cinnabar Gym signpost calls it Guren Island.

Generations II and IV

In the Generation II games and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the island's signpost, the Cinnabar Gym signpost and its relocation notice call it Guren Town. The location ID is Guren Island in Generation II and Guren Town in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Slogan

Generations I-III

The Fiery Town of Burning Desire (Japanese: グレンの あかは じょうねつの いろGuren's red is the color of passion.)

Generation IV

The Ravaged Town of the Past (Japanese: おしながされた かこの まちThe ravaged town of the past)

Places of interest

Pokémon Mansion

The Pokémon Mansion is a decrepit, burned-down mansion on Cinnabar Island. It got its name because a famous Pokémon Researcher once lived there. The Pokémon Mansion has four different floors. Doors can be unlocked in the Mansion by pressing switches hidden in Mewtwo statues. To access the Cinnabar Island Gym in GenerationsI and III, the main character has to enter the mansion and find the Secret Key to unlock the door of the Gym. Many burglars come to the mansion, trying to steal valuable items that may have been lost in the wreckage, challenging the player to a battle when spotted. Amongst the rubble and wreckage is information that the scientists who once worked there obtained a Mew and impregnated it with the genetically altered Mewtwo, who destroyed the mansion in its escape.

Volcano

There is a volcano on Cinnabar Island which gives it its name. In Generation I and Generation III, the volcano that appears on Cinnabar Island cannot be accessed. In the anime, the volcano is a prominent feature of the island, and is where the Cinnabar Gym is located, split into two sections. One is inside of the volcano, and has an arena suspended over the lava inside one of the chambers, while the other is atop the volcano's crater. In Generation II and IV, three years after the events of Generation I and III, the volcano erupted on the island, destroying everything, and only the Pokémon Center has been rebuilt. What appeared to be a rain-filled crater could also be seen in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, the exterior of the volcano can be scaled with Rock Climb. Judging by the maps of all four generations, the volcano originated where the Gym once stood.

Cinnabar Gym

The Cinnabar Gym is the official Gym of Cinnabar Island, it is based on Fire-typePokémon and the Gym Leader is Blaine. Trainers who defeat him receive the Volcano Badge. The player is unable to enter the Gym at once; only when they obtain the Secret Key from the Pokémon Mansion can they unlock the door to the Gym. The Cinnabar Gym is a high-tech affair featuring a series of sealed doors. Trivia questions about various Pokémon must be answered to unseal the doors. However, when the player fails to answer a trivia question correctly, a battle with either a Burglar or Super Nerd results, an alternative to unsealing the doors. In Generations II and IV, Blaine's original Gym on Cinnabar Island was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. This forced him to relocate to a cave in the Seafoam Islands.

Demographics

Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow

Cinnabar Island has a population of 33.

Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal

Cinnabar Island has a population of 6, all residing in the Pokémon Center. This is because every other building was destroyed by a volcanic eruption.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

Cinnabar Island has a population of nine, making it one of the smallest towns in the Pokémon world. The volcano eruption destroyed most of the island, with the Pokémon Center being the only building remaining.

Trainers

Generation VII

Differences between generations

Cinnabar Island has changed dramatically between GenerationsI and II as the city has been totally replaced by a large erupted volcano, removing everything except for the Pokémon Center. After the eruption, the Gym was relocated to the Seafoam Islands. Blue can be first found at Cinnabar Island, because he was in a bad mood and decided to take a stroll there. In Generation III, there are a few changes with the visual design, as the Pokémon Mansion and Pokémon Lab are slightly larger along with more sandy beach areas. The first and last questions in the Cinnabar Gym have also been changed slightly for clarification. In Generation IV, the island stays much the same as Generation II, although the volcano is now climbable by Rock Climb.

In the spin-off games

In Pokémon Pinball

In Pokkén Tournament

While Cinnabar Island does not appear in Pokkén Tournament, when fighting Shadow Mewtwo, sometimes Nia will mention having read the "Cinnabar Island docs" on Mewtwo. However, the words "Cinnabar Island" aren't in text, and thus are only noticeable if her voice is turned on.

In the anime

In the main series

Cinnabar Island in the anime

Cinnabar Island is considered a mere beach resort town famous for its hot springs in the anime. A bird's-eye view shows the majority of the island is dense forest with the volcano at its center, while the township only occupies a small portion. It lies close to the port and the ocean, featuring many hotels, souvenir shops, restaurants, and food stalls. Many Trainers skip the island entirely or go there for a break from battling. Blaine points out his dilapidated Gym to Ash and his friends, blaming the roaring tourist trade for its closure. Blaine runs the Big Riddle Inn, a hotel with a clock tower, and bath house with separate male- and female-exclusive hot springs for tourists. He wears a hippie disguise to hide his real identity as Gym Leader. His Gym is located inside of the volcano.

In Riddle Me This, Ash and his friends foiled Team Rocket's latest exploits at the Pokémon Lab. Ash was also trying to locate the Gym so he could challenge Blaine. The riddle man eventually informed Ash that Blaine built another Gym inside of a volcano. Thanks to Misty's Togepi jumping on one of the hot spring taps, Ash and his friends discovered the new Cinnabar Gym; it was connected to Blaine's Big Riddle Inn via a secret tunnel. It has two sections; one is inside of the volcano, and has an arena suspended over the lava inside one of the chambers. The other arena is in the top crater of the volcano itself, and features rock pillars above the lava flow.

When Ash and his friends went in, they learned that the riddle man was actually Blaine in disguise. Ash and Blaine battled, but Ash had a series of misfortunes. The first was his Squirtle being defeated by Blaine's Ninetales. Then, his Charizard refused to listen to him. Finally, Pikachu received severe burns caused by Blaine's Magmar and its powerful Fire Blast. Ash called off the battle, not wanting Pikachu to fall in the lava. In Volcanic Panic, after Team Rocket had almost destroyed Blaine's Gym (and Cinnabar Island as a result), he agreed to a rematch on his alternate battlefield on top of the volcano. This time, Ash was able to defeat Blaine with the help of his Charizard and its Seismic Toss, earning himself the Volcano Badge.

In Beach Blank-Out Blastoise, at the request of a wildWartortle, Ash and his friends made their way via boat to an unnamed island near Cinnabar Island, inhabited exclusively by a Blastoise and its pre-evolutions. They helped to awaken the entire colony after Jigglypuff was lodged into one of Blastoise's cannons while swimming and rescued them from being captured by Team Rocket.

Gallery

In Pokémon Origins

Cinnabar Island was visited by Red in File 3: Giovanni. During his visit, he first explored the Pokémon Mansion, where he discovered a journal that would later help him identify Cerulean Cave's mysterious Pokémon as Mewtwo. After exploring the Mansion, Red challenged Blaine to a Gym battle and won, earning the Volcano Badge.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Cinnabar Island debuted in Holy Moltres, where Team Rocket was trying to hunt down Blaine on the island because of him leaving them. When Team Rocket threatened Red, Blaine showed himself and rescued him. When they tried to escape, Team Rocket sent Moltres after them. As Blaine knew that they needed a Flying Pokémon to fight Moltres effectively, he sent Red to his secret laboratory to revive his Old Amber. Thanks to the Aerodactyl revived by Red, Team Rocket and Moltres were forced to retreat.

Cinnabar Island made a brief appearance in Double Down Deoxys, when Camper Evan and Super Nerd Miles visited Blaine at his laboratory. Due to the mark left on his arm by Mewtwo's cells, Blaine was able to sense Mewtwo's agitation, speculating that it was due to Mew heading back to the Kanto mainland from Faraway Island.

Trivia

It was long believed that Cinnabar Island once was the tip of a stratovolcano or a shield volcano since no mountain was visible on the island for the first three generations. This was changed in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver where a mountain stratovolcano is actually there and can be reached by using Rock Climb, indicating that lack of diverse scenery in the past games was the reason for no mountain being there. However, all map artworks throughout the generations have shown the volcano to be there.

Cinnabar Island and Vermilion City are named after the same color in the English versions of the Pokémon games but not in the Japanese versions, since crimson (グレンguren, "crimson lotus") refers to a shade of red while vermilion (クチバkuchiba, "decayed leaves") refers to a shade of orange. Cinnabar is an orange-red mineral that produces the orange-red pigment vermilion. This explains why Cinnabar Island is colored red while Vermilion City is colored orange in the Generation I games when played with the Super Game Boy enhancements enabled on a compatible system or with the Game Boy Color enhancements available in the international releases of Pokémon Yellow (including the Virtual Console release).

It is the southernmost location in both Kanto and Johto that the player can Fly to.

Name origin

Language

Name

Origin

Japanese

グレンじま Guren Jimaグレンタウン Guren Town

From 紅蓮色 guren-iro, the crimson color of red lotus

English

Cinnabar Island

From cinnabar, an orange-red mineral used to produce vermilion pigment